THE ATENEO Softball Team carded their first win in University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 against archrivals De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Batters, 12-7. The match was held earlier today at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Baseball Field. 

The Blue Eagles opened the first inning with a run by shortstop Genesis Degolacion. Senior catcher Sophia Carsi-Cruz then built on Degolacion’s momentum to score Ateneo’s second run as she reached second base, 2-0. 

Ateneo’s consistent offensive strategy and a couple of miscommunication errors on DLSU’s end allowed the Blue and White to close the first inning with a total of four runs.  

Heading into the second inning, DLSU was able to combat Ateneo’s effortless streak in the scoring column by limiting the Blue Eagles to three hitters despite promising hits by Julia Carsi-Cruz. However, the Blue and White’s robust defensive play, owing to consecutive outs by freshman pitcher Katrina Ditchon, kept the Green Archers from trimming Ateneo’s flawless lead, 4-0.  

In the top of the fourth inning, Ateneo managed to convert its hits into three more runs, bringing its score up to 7-0. DLSU finally managed to register a point in the contest after getting one run in the bottom fourth inning, 7-1. However, by the bottom of the fifth inning, the Blue and White’s defense was momentarily plagued by crucial catching errors, resulting in four consecutive runs for the DLSU Lady Batters, 7-5. 

Despite Ateneo already accumulating two outs in the sixth inning, three-base hits by Ditchon disrupted DLSU’s streak. This impressive play was followed by a flyout by S. Carsi-Cruz and a well-calculated hit by Alia Tuprio, leading Ateneo to bounce back and come up with a large six-run lead ahead of DLSU, 11-5. Ateneo’s Asteria Franco also caught a DLSU ball on defense to prevent the Lady Batters from scoring another run. 

As Ateneo entered the seventh inning on offense, two consecutive base hits by Macasaet widened the Blue Eagles’ gap against DLSU even further. The match then officially closed with a ground ball catch by Ditchon, declaring the Blue and White the victors of the intense game against the DLSU Lady Batters, 12-7. 

The Blue Eagles will look to win back-to-back as they enter round two of UAAP Softball in its match against the UP Fighting Maroons at 11:30 AM on Saturday, March 4, at the same venue.